But beyond all this, it's still a lot of fun. Now if I can just figure out how to get to the next area with the TELP Regulars. . . .

(I guess that it's easy to write a "manual" like this and justify it with "well, people don't read the manuals anyway", and that's probably true. But it still bugs me.)

Actually, the better appliances usually do have fairly decent manuals, but even that trend is going by the wayside. When I got my first Cuisinart 25 or 30 years ago, it came with: 1. a quick how-to sheet, 2. an in-depth manual and 3. a CD showing how to do everything. That was a wonderful machine, unfortunately killed by "improvements." (I put in in the dishwasher safely for 10 years, until THAT appliance died. Then I got a new one, with "improved" dishwashing powder. That stuff totally disintegrated all the metal parts that weren't stainless steel. Sigh.)
The next Cuisinart came with a "manual" that gave a parts list and many recipes, but no clear directions on how to do anything. The "directions" were on one side of a small sheet of paper with English on one side and Spanish on the other. I never did find out why it did such a lousy job of shredding potatoes or carrots.

*The trick is to keep chopping up those peanuts/other nuts until they turn shiny instead of powdery.

All was going well. You start with 3 in the party, and can add 2 more. (You can actually add more than that, but can only play a maximum of 5 at a time. Bones was the warrior leading the band, while I was an archer and Peter2 was the mystic (mage.) After our first battle, we were informed that we could now recruit someone else. Chlara then joined us as another warrior. Then it got interesting. Chlara decided that I was her rival, so we traded snarky remarks for awhile. Our rivalry really paid off in battle however, since we each tried to outdo the other in fighting technique, and thus were able to increase the party's fighting power.
Then things got REALLY complicated. We came to a land of wolf god worshipers. Bones felt some sort of ancestral urge to seek out the wolf god. He left the party to satisfy his yearning. When he returned, he now had the body of a man and the head of a wolf! (He could have refused, but he said he had felt a deep need to follow the wolves.) Chlala fainted. (We later found out that she and Bones had become more than friends, but nothing x-rated.) Meanwhile, Peter2 and I became romantically involved. Unfortunately, this didn't last long, because I was maimed in the next battle. After the battle, as I lay bleeding, I had to make a choice: go through life with only one arm which for an archer might as well be doom; retire, allowing all the others to have a permanent, 2-point boost to their hitpoints; or die, giving everyone a 10-point hitpoint boost. I chose death. (The party was soon able to hire another archer: Ramillies.) Peter2 sadly built me a memorial shrine at my burial ground. Bones acquired a wolf's increased speed and ferocity. He and Chlala decided to quit the party, marry, and live in a beautiful little valley they'd discovered. Their son joined the party, with a few more stat points than the average newcomer, since he had inherited some of Bones' ferocity and Chlala's thoughtfulness. He gave no indication of having inherited Bones' wolf tendencies.
The rest of the TELPers were able to defeat the boss and restore the first area to prosperity and safety. I decided that being dead, I had no desire to watch sadly while the rest of you went on to fame and glory, despite my beautiful shrine. Good-bye.